Shield AI’s Hivemind mission autonomy software flew multiple U.S. Air Force Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) in a multi-ship formation on October 26, 2026, and carried out tactical beyond-visual-range air combat maneuvers, according to the company. Shield AI says it was the first time Hivemind flew several CCAs as a coordinated team.

In a press release dated November 9, 2026, Shield AI said the formation flight was one of two firsts for the CCA program within three weeks. The other came on October 8, when an F-22 pilot gave high-level directives to an FQ-44A in flight. The company presents the pair as a step from one fighter pilot directing one autonomous teammate to several autonomous aircraft maneuvering together.

Two flight tests in October

On October 8, the F-22 pilot acted as an airborne “quarterback,” Shield AI said. Hivemind interpreted the pilot’s directives and carried them out in real time, so the FQ-44A performed dynamic maneuvers and simulated combat tasks under the pilot’s control. AirPro News covered that test when an F-22 pilot directed a YFQ-44A Fury in October.

On October 26, Hivemind enabled multiple CCAs to fly in formation and execute collaborative beyond-visual-range counter-air tactics. The company said the flight showed collaborative mission execution, not aircraft simply operating in the same airspace. The release does not say how many aircraft took part, which aircraft types flew on October 26 or where the flights took place.

Todd Wesley, vice president of Hivemind engineering at Shield AI, said the company’s mission autonomy runs on each aircraft and translates human intent into collaborative actions. He said the flights also advance the integration of the sensors, data links and interfaces that the autonomy depends on, and that the aircraft and mission systems are reaching a level of integration that lets Hivemind show what it can do.

Software updates between sorties

Wesley said every flight produces data for the next software release. According to Wesley, the combined Hivemind and aircraft software release process is nearing the point where the Air Force can fly a sortie, update the software overnight and fly again the next day.

Shield AI credits the Air Force’s Autonomy Government Reference Architecture (A-GRA) for making these milestones possible. A-GRA separates mission autonomy from aircraft-specific functions through standardized interfaces, so mission software can improve independently of the airframe. The company says this supports competition and lowers the integration burden for new capabilities.

The company describes a repeatable cycle of develop, verify, fly, learn and update across its aircraft deployments, with improvements on any aircraft maturing the software on all of them, limited only by data handling restrictions. Shield AI said Hivemind’s common software foundation has been integrated on more than 40 uncrewed systems across air, land, sea and space, and that the CCA flights ran on that same software.

How Shield AI reached this point in the CCA program

The Air Force selected Shield AI as a mission autonomy provider for the CCA program after a competitive evaluation supporting Technology Maturation and Risk Reduction (TMRR) efforts, as AirPro News reported on its CCA selection in February 2026. In a February 26, 2026, release, Shield AI said the choice of Hivemind was the first time the Air Force had independently chosen both mission autonomy software and an aircraft.

The same release said Hivemind had completed its first CCA flight test aboard Anduril’s YFQ-44A over the Mojave Desert, including mid-mission updates and initial operational behaviors. The November 9 release refers to the aircraft as the FQ-44A.

On June 17, 2026, Shield AI announced a production contract for CCA mission autonomy. Under that award, the company said, it would develop collaborative combat autonomy behaviors that let multiple autonomous aircraft operate together under human supervision, reducing operator workload.

Shield AI, founded in 2015, also builds the V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, according to the company.

What comes next

Shield AI said it will keep testing, assessing and refining Hivemind with the Air Force, and that data from these flights will feed that work. Lessons from each flight can be delivered as software updates, according to the company. The release gives no dates for further flight tests or for testing and fielding decisions.

Electra Defense has received a $4.7 million innovative capabilities opening (ICO) contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to fund ground and flight testing of the hybrid-electric power and propulsion systems on its EL9 ultra-short takeoff and landing (Ultra-STOL) aircraft. The work includes extensive ground testing of the EL9 preproduction aircraft and acoustic flight tests of battery-only, low-signature ingress and egress for special operations missions.

Manassas, Virginia-based Electra Defense announced the award in a press release dated November 9, 2026. The company said the contract is meant to produce performance data that helps the U.S. Air Force assess Ultra-STOL aircraft, and that results will inform future Air Force technology and acquisition decisions.

What the Air Force is paying to test

According to Electra, the ICO covers the EL9 and its hybrid-electric propulsion systems. Technical evaluations will look at aircraft performance, propulsion system functionality and operational effectiveness, with activities that include verifying key power and propulsion technologies.

The program also includes modeling and simulation work. Electra said this will assess operations from more locations, rapid dispersal of personnel and time-sensitive cargo, and reduced reliance on traditional aviation infrastructure and ground support equipment. The release ties the work to expanded operational access, distributed logistics and the Air Force’s Agile Combat Employment (ACE) doctrine.

Donn Yates, vice president and general manager of Electra Defense, said: “Power and propulsion are fundamental to unlocking new capabilities for military aviation.” He said the contract will help quantify the advantages of hybrid-electric Ultra-STOL aircraft, and described the combination of hybrid-electric power, distributed propulsion and ultra-short takeoff and landing as a fundamentally discriminating approach to tactical mobility.

A longer Air Force relationship

Electra said the award extends a longstanding AFRL partnership. AFWERX, the Department of the Air Force’s innovation arm, said in a January 23, 2026 success story that Electra had received nine AFWERX contracts since December 2020. In 2023, AFWERX awarded the company a Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI) of up to $85 million to develop a full-scale pre-production prototype. AFWERX said that three-year contract combines $30 million in Air Force Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and other funds with $55 million in private investment.

According to AFWERX, Electra took part in AFRL’s Future Flag 25-3 exercise in September 2025 and completed government-directed tests, a milestone under the STRATFI contract. Electra introduced Electra Defense as a business unit for defense missions using the EL9 in December 2025, and the company has also won a U.S. Army SBIR contract for hybrid-electric powertrain, power and propulsion work.

The U.S. military is evaluating runway-independent aircraft for austere and contested environments, including the Indo-Pacific, AFWERX said, with hybrid-powered aircraft potentially supporting logistics, ship-to-shore transport and personnel recovery.

Where the EL9 program stands

The EL9 is a nine-passenger hybrid-electric aircraft that Electra says can take off and land in as little as 150 feet. AFWERX said the aircraft would carry 1,000 lbs. over 1,000 nautical miles and generate 600 kW of expeditionary power. Electra’s design uses a turbogenerator to supply continuous power to distributed electric propulsors along the wing, which accelerate airflow to increase lift at low speed, an architecture covered by its three US patents in February.

In that February 11, 2026 release, Electra said its two-seat EL2 technology demonstrator had completed flight testing with the company’s proprietary propulsion system, that first EL9 test flights are planned for 2027, and that certification and commercial service entry are anticipated in late 2029 into 2030 under FAA Part 23. Electra has also carried out a demonstration at the Downtown Skyport heliport in Lower Manhattan, which the company said is believed to be the first landing there by a fixed-wing aircraft without vertical takeoff capability.

On the production side, Electra has selected Springfield, Ohio, for its first EL9 production facility. The company said in a November 5, 2026 release that the planned Springfield plant is an $850 million development expected to support production of up to 800 aircraft per year.

Electra says it has more than 2,200 letters of intent from more than 60 commercial customers, and lists the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy and NASA among its contracted customers. Its strategic investors include Lockheed Martin Ventures, Honeywell and Safran. The company says its Ultra Short aircraft offer 2.5 times the payload, 10 times the range and 70% lower operating costs than helicopters and electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.

Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) has awarded Textron Aviation an $18.6 million firm-fixed-price contract for one Beechcraft King Air 360CER, designated the UC-12W+, plus an initial package of spare parts for the U.S. Marine Corps. The aircraft is scheduled for delivery in 2028, the same year four more UC-12W+ aircraft already in production are expected.

Textron Aviation announced the order in a press release dated November 9, 2026, and said the contract was awarded on September 28, 2026. According to the release, the Marine Corps’ active Operational Support Airlift inventory includes nine operational UC-12W and UC-12W+ aircraft, and the program projects a fleet of 30 UC-12W aircraft.

What the UC-12W+ is built to do

Textron Aviation describes the UC-12W+ as a tactical airlift platform for short-notice, time-sensitive, high-priority missions. The cabin can be reconfigured for passengers, cargo or mixed-use utility, and the aircraft can carry medical evacuation litters. The eight-seat passenger layout can be changed for cargo or medical transport.

The aircraft is based on the King Air 360CER and has extended-range fuel tanks, a large cargo door, Collins Aerospace Pro Line Fusion avionics and Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-60A engines. Mission equipment listed by Textron Aviation includes secure military avionics and communications, night-vision-compatible lighting, weather detection, gravel-runway protection and aircraft survivability systems.

The release carries NAVAIR public release number SPR2026-0743 and contains no quotes from Marine Corps or Textron Aviation officials.

Where the UC-12W fleet is heading

The UC-12W aircraft are replacing the Marine Corps’ legacy nondeployable UC-12F, UC-12M and UC-35D utility aircraft, according to Textron Aviation. The fleet operates from Marine Corps Air Stations and transportation squadrons, including Camp Pendleton, California.

The September 28 award covers a single aircraft, while the service’s budget plans call for larger buys. Aviation Week reported on May 6, 2026, that the Marine Corps plans to buy 10 UC-12W support aircraft in fiscal 2027, with seven more planned for 2028, and that the Department of the Navy’s budget request includes $204.5 million to buy the modified Beechcraft C-12 Hurons from Textron Aviation. According to that report, the plan would nearly double the UC-12W fleet in one year.

Textron Aviation’s release does not say whether the new contract is part of those fiscal 2027 purchases, and it gives no schedule for retiring the UC-12F, UC-12M and UC-35D aircraft or for reaching the 30-aircraft fleet.

Other King Air 360 military business

The King Air 360 family has drawn other government buyers in 2026. AirPro News has reported on the Peruvian Army’s King Air 360C selection in April 2026 and on a Philippine King Air 360ER surveillance deal in January 2026.